byronwolfe.com

Phantom Skies and Shifting Ground: Eadweard Muybridge

 It's been a long time coming (twelve years!) but the book Scott Brady and I have been working on is finally done. It's called Phantom Skies and Shifting Ground: Landscape, Culture, and Rephotography in Eadweard Muybridge's Illustrations of Central America. It's co-publication between Temple University Press and Radius Books and is now available for purchase: http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/2415_reg.html

Radius books did a beautiful job designing the book and it even includes a small portfolio of separately bound Muybridge photographs in the front section.

In related news, Places Journal, a wonderful site for scholarship on architecture, landscape, and urbanism published an abridged version of my essay from the book. It can be found here: https://placesjournal.org/article/eadweard-muybridges-secret-cloud-collection/ 

And if you want to get a sense of the entire scope of the project, including animations about Muybridge and the wacky things he did with clouds, visit Phantomskies.com, a companion web site I made with Temple University Press. It's an experiment in open source publication that allowed me to show some more kinetic versions of creative work from the project.

Byron

Muybridge's Phantom Skies

Byron Wolfe, 2016. Phantom skies and shifting ground from Eduardo Santiago Muybridge's post-murder travels.

Composite image using selections from Eadweard Muybridge's 1875-76 Central American photographs. Images courtesy the California History Room, California State Library, Sacramento, California; Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries; and Center for Creative Photography.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 20"h  x 24"w

Eadweard Muybridge (aka Eduardo Santiago Muybridge) in Latin America

In the dead of night in 1875, just after being acquitted for the murder of his wife's lover, Eadweard Muybridge boarded the Pacific Mail Steamship Company's vessel The Honduras. He temporarily took on the name Eduardo Santiago Muybridge and spent a year photographing all along the Central American Pacific Coast with particular emphasis given to his travels in Guatemala and Panamá. 

Upon his return to California in 1876 he produced and published a very limited number of albums that he sold or gave away. The albums – eleven known to date - are exceedingly rare and each is unique in size and scope. They are a complicated record of the past from an enigmatic and important figure. 

But they're a complicated record not just because of the varied makeup of each album; Muybridge was exceptionally adept at combining different negatives to form single composite images. That means that the exact same landscape view might appear in different albums with completely different skies and clouds! Or the exact same clouds might appear in dozens of different landscape scenes! And some landscapes might even have had volcanoes added or subtracted from the scene.

Starting in 2005, Dr. Scott Brady (a cultural geographer and colleague at Chico State) and I traveled to Guatemala and Panamá to relocate and rephotograph a substantial portion of Muybridge's photographs. I also compiled a catalog of every known Muybridge Central American picture, complete with a detailed visual analysis of all the wacky things he did with clouds and volcanoes.

Our work has culminated in a book publication (described above) and prints from the effort have appeared in numerous exhibitions.

Basic and deluxe versions of "La Libertad"

Byron Wolfe, 2010. Basic and deluxe versions of "La Libertad – El Salvador." 

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876. 

Left version courtesy of the California State Library, Sacramento. Right version courtesy of Stanford University Special Collections.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 11"h  x 24"w

A single journey with multiple outcomes

Byron Wolfe, 2010. A single journey with multiple outcomes; the same picture from different albums. 

Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. San Benito, Mexico, from the Steamer Honduras.(Title varies slightly according to the album). 

Left picture courtesy of Stanford University Special Collections. Middle picture courtesy of Niagara University Special Collections. Right picture courtesy of the Boston Athenaeum.

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 12"h  x 24"w

Atmospheric Locomotion

Byron Wolfe, 2010. Atmospheric Locomotion; the exact same clouds through two countries and multiple scenes – all from a single album.   

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876. (Courtesy Stanford University Special Collections) 

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 36"h  x 50"w

Ancient watchtower - Panamá Viejo

Byron Wolfe, 2010. Beneath the roof of the Centro de Artesíana, Panamá City, Panamá. 

Back: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. Ruins of the Watch Tower - Old Panama. Courtesy of the California State Library. 

Individual album page from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 18"h  x 33"w

Watchtower ruins and three skies

Byron Wolfe, 2010. Ancient watchtower in Panamá Viejo and alternative clouds from unknown locations. 

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876. 

Left picture courtesy of the California State Library.  Middle picture courtesy of Stanford University Special Collections. Right picture courtesy of the Center for Creative Photography.

Note: There are five versions of this picture known to exist. Each was printed using a different cloud negative.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 17"h  x 44"w

The same sunlit clouds

Byron Wolfe, 2010. The same sunlit clouds passing through "Return of a coffee launch by moonlight – Champerico" and "Las Monjas – Panama." 

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876. (Courtesy Stanford University Special Collections) 

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 16"h  x 22"w

Consistent compositional strategies

Byron Wolfe, 2010. Pictures from different countries with consistent clouds and compositional strategies.

Left: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. Santo Domingo – Panama. Right: Church of El Carmen – Guatemala. Courtesy of Stanford University Special Collections.

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 12"h  x 28"w

Fifteen layered pictures

Byron Wolfe, 2010. Fifteen layered pictures that share a common cloud. 

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876. (Courtesy Stanford University Special Collections) 

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 16"h  x 20"w

The "Honduras," one sky, two coasts

Byron Wolfe, 2010. The steamship "Honduras" just off the coast of Guatemala. And Panama.

Back: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. Panama – . Overlay: Loading coffee at Champerico – Guatemala. Courtesy of Stanford University Special Collections.

Individual album page from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 12"h  x 17"w

A reconstituted cloud negative

Byron Wolfe, 2010. A reconstituted cloud negative – minus parts of pictures from Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. 

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876. (Courtesy Stanford University Special Collections) 

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 17"h  x 44"w

The wandering satellite

Byron Wolfe, 2010. The wandering satellite; segments of the same picture from different albums showing varied placement of an artificial moon. 

Back: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. Bay of Panama by moonlight. Courtesy of the Boston Athenaeum. Insets courtesy of the California State Library, Stanford University Special Collections, and the Center for Creative Photography.

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 12"h  x 17"w

The repeating cloud chart

Byron Wolfe, 2010. The relative frequency of Muybridge's repeating clouds from the large Stanford album. 

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876. (Courtesy Stanford University Special Collections) 

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Presented in sections with  finished dimensions of 146"h  x 292"w (it's a whopper).

Monument One

Byron Wolfe, 2009. "Monument One," relocated and deployed as lawn ornament, Naranja, Guatemala. 

Left: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875. Ancient Sacrificial Stone – Naranja, Guatemala. (Courtesy Stanford University Special Collections) 

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 11"h  x 24"w

Picking flowers after a gentle rain

Byron Wolfe, 2007. Picking flowers after a gentle rain. Mazatenango, Guatemala.

Inset: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. Rio Mazatenango, Guatemala. Courtesy of Stanford Special Collections.

Individual album page from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 24"h  x 48"w

Las Nubes - main residence

Byron Wolfe, 2009. Former residence at Las Nubes coffee finca, now maintained as guest quarters for birdwatchers, Guatemala. 

Inset: Eadweard Muybridge, 1876. (Courtesy Stanford University Special Collections) 

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 20"h  x 44"w

Las Nubes - spreading the berries to dry

Byron Wolfe, 2009. Spreading the berries to dry – from the creaky roof of the guest quarters. Las Nubes, Guatemala. 

Inset: Eadweard Muybridge, 1876. (Courtesy Stanford University Special Collections) 

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 16"h  x 44"w

Las Nubes - playing games and passing the time

Byron Wolfe, 2009. Playing games and passing the time in the coffee pickers' neighborhood, Las Nubes, Guatemala.

Left: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. Village of Coffee Pickers – Las Nubes. Courtesy of Stanford Special Collections.

Individual album page from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 27"h  x 66"w

Las Nubes - looking forward 130 years

Byron Wolfe, 2005. Looking forward 130 years through the freshly cleared land at Las Nubes coffee finca, Guatemala.

Left: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. Las Nubes. Courtesy of California State Library.

Individual album page from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 16"h  x 23"w

Las Nubes - downslope from the coffee pickers' village

Byron Wolfe, 2007. Downslope from the coffee pickers' village, looking toward the guest quarters, Las Nubes, Guatemala.

Left: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. Mill at Las Nubes – Guatemala. Courtesy of Stanford Special Collections.

Individual album page from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 12"h  x 28"w

Las Nubes - first day of the coffee season

Byron Wolfe, 2005. Parking lot, main residence, Las Nubes, Guatemala.

Left: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. First day of the coffee season – Las Nubes. Courtesy of Stanford Special Collections.

Individual album page from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 10"h  x 27"w

Seven views of Las Nubes, Guatemala

Byron Wolfe, 2010. Seven views of Las Nubes coffee finca that overlap and intersect at common points, Guatemala. 

Individual album pages from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876. (Courtesy Stanford University Special Collections) 

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 17"h  x 44"w

Las Nubes - site of the central office

Byron Wolfe, 2007. Site of the central office at Las Nubes coffee fince, Guatemala.

Left: Eadweard Muybridge, 1875-76. Coffee pickers house – Las Nubes. Courtesy of Stanford Special Collections.

Individual album page from The Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico; the Isthmus of Panama; Guatemala; and the Cultivation and Shipment of Coffee, Illustrated by Muybridge, 1876.

Medium: Digital inkjet print. Dimensions: 12"h  x 28"w